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Monday, 20 June 2016

I am off on my summer holiday this week and part of me is wishing I had postponed it a few days because I didn't take into regard the EU referendum that Britain is having on Thursday.

I have already warned my friend that I will venture out for dinner but I will be back glued to my new laptop for the results. I can see why referendums are rare and once a generation because it is exhausting and I feel like I have been studying for a final exam.

That is why I thought I would do a nice fluffy piece that activates a completely different cerebral cortex.

I loved this story on the Daily Mail but even they didn't dare say the obvious.

The fact is due to patriotic and ambassadorial roles the largely politically defunct royal family have the importance of comportment and what they wear take on greater meaning and significance.

But also due to this ambassadorial role they are urged as an unwritten fashion rule to promote British fashion houses naturally. I am also a fan of a few - my favourite being Amanda Wakely.

But this is why the "publicity tier" of the UK royal family will rarely be seen in Chanel or any other well known foreign fashion brand. So seeing Amelia Windsor in Chanel and frankly blow everyone else away in the fashion stakes almost seemed unfair. She has the advantage of being referred to as a 'minor royal'.

Imagine the furore if Kate wore Chanel to a public function although I personally find her support of dubious high street chains annoying - I refer to the whole True Cost issue.

I almost prefer she wore Chanel than Zara but that's another story.

Of course, it was the Queen's special day and I think yellow suits her tremendously.

She genuinely looked so pleased and happy for the special occasion.

I also liked her in the almost neon green dress on the Trooping of the Color when she told off Prince William.

But I agree with the Daily Mail and think that Amelia Windsor just picked an appropriate dress and suited her age and I always think that Chanel is best for occasion dressing.

I loved her shoes with the pearl details.

Her sister Marina also looks like she opted for Chanel and I liked her Chanel ensemble too.

Speaking of royal sisters...

The second star was the red dress and I have never seen Princess Eugenie look so lovely.

Princess Beatrice gets much maligned and I can't say I always like her choices but I admire that she takes fashion risks and seems to have a quiet confidence despite the harsh press she gets.

Kate wore a nice,sweet, and polite Catherine Walker dress.

It's a bit mother of the bride but I have given up on her being a genuine fashion icon.

Camilla knows what suits her and I must say she hasn't aged at all in the last decade since she has married Charles.

Prince Charles hasn't veered off in his style of suits either.

Princess Anne is not known for her fashion but she is a genuinely busy woman and it's times like that I think fashion can be not even secondary but at the bottom of one's list.

Her daughter has heavenly bone structure and she doesn't play the whole press attention coy games as inherited by her mother.

`Princess Sophie wore a lovely coat dress that was my favourite out of all the coat dresses on parade.

Princess Michael wore a respectful outfit though I found the detail in the front somehow ruin the tailoring of the dress and the pleated skirt seemed a bit too much fabric.

The whole of the royal family was complimented by the nation really but the major fashion faux pas was committed by Samantha Cameron who is the wife of our Prime Minister and also the sister of one of the editors at UK Vogue magazine.

Posh British girls tend to have a habit of either rebelling against fashion or breaking fashion rules.

First of all, the dress was sleeveless which in most formal gathering in religious institutions isn't encouraged and is a case of etiquette. She was attending a service for the Queen at St. Paul's - it wasn't a charity bake sale mid morning gathering at her local church. I am impressed by her toned physique and her sculpted arms a la Michelle Obama but there is time and a place.

Second, and this is a fashion prejudice I have inherited from my mother, is that if you have lots of folds in your armpits then it is best to avoid a closely cut sleeveless top. A capped or straight up and down cut is encouraged but the gathering of flesh at the armpits is not the most attractive feature.

But of course it has nothing to do with weight as the picture of Samantha demonstrates.

On another separate note, I have deactivated my Facebook account and therefore the Facebook page for the blog is now gone as well so if you follow through Facebook which I can see a good percentage of readers do then perhaps you could subscribe by email instead.

Mind you those following through Facebook might not be able to read this as I forgot but I really don't want to go back on for the moment.

I won't bore you with the details but I didn't appreciate all the sponsored posts and the ads that would follow me everywhere I went. It made me feel so uncomfortable that there were so many algorithms about me.

I am taking a couple of weeks off and will be back mid July and I hope you all stay well x

Monday, 13 June 2016

A store opening isn't a store opening anymore unless you have satellite events all across England.

Pubs were rented for the night for parties and even Scott's restaurant was doing its PR for the newly opened Dior maison by having Dior mannequin topiaries.Even the planter boxes got into the spirit.I must be getting to be an old lady because I think it is marketing gone mad.Know they self said Socrates and one thing I realize I love more and more is things that have their customized place.That is probably why out of all the items in the newly opened Dior maison I liked this cutlery holder.

It is a limited edition - of course it is - Christofle for Dior cutlery egg.

I don't know about hard surfaces and too much earth elements inside - it is refined glamping whatever way you want to call it.

The baby Dior bags are cute but useless like so much else when you go shopping.

But then art is - in a sociopath's eyes - useless too.But I love this Russian painting and this picture does it no justice what so ever.People can be photoshopped but not oil paints.

I was completely freaked out and mesmerized by this plant which I found out later was called liverwort. I might have been too enthusiastic in my watering of plants. But those tentacles have kept growing but it is just so alien but it is a type of moss. Oddly I did not notice this plant in the famous moss gardens of Japan.

Monday, 6 June 2016

The Dior flagship store or as the French fashion world refers to this, maison, opened to the public Friday June 3rd in London after a week of flurry of press and VIP events one of which was held in Blenheim Palace.

This was much awaited as Dior is one of the top fashion brands and the location is in one of the biggest cities in the most prestigious shopping street in London.

There was a special art installation hung as chandelier under a mirrored ceiling over a generous bouquet of Chelsea flower show judged peonies enclosed by a limited edition handcrafted bench by another exclusive artist done solely for this flagship maison.